The Problem with Secrets and Fathers
by Lilly Dolittle
Summary: What happens when Moe French sees bruises on his daughter and assumes the worst. Going to be three chapters (This is my first published fanfiction).
1. Chapter 1

Belle sat nervously waiting in Granny's Diner. It had been several months since the tunnel incident and although Rumple and her had managed to rebuild their relationship, the same could not be said for the relationship she had with her Pappa. It was not for lack of trying, but most days it seemed like Moe French was more focused on his hatred for the imp then his feelings for his daughter.

And that was why Belle was sitting in a booth in the diner, watching as the lunch rush came in, nervously contemplating which of Rumple's sins were going to be expounded upon today.

As she sat and sipped her iced tea, she fidgeted with her bulky bracelets. She stared at the bracelets and a new thought came into her mind as a smile graced her lips. The thought was a memory of last night, a night when her secret fantasies had come true.

Just has her mind was beginning to replay the best part of the night, the bell above the door chimed announcing the entrance of her Pappa. Moe spotted Belle at her table as she stood to greet him and quickly approached giving her a brief kiss on the cheek and a hug.

"Darling Belle, how are you?" He asked removing his baseball cap and coat.

"Fine Pappa and you?" Belle responded as they both sat down.

"Fine, fine."

An awkward silence stretched between the two of them, neither knowing what to say or what subject would be safe to broach.

It was only when Ruby asked for their order was the silence broken. Belle ordered a hamburger, Moe ordered a club sandwich. Again the silence stretched between the two.

"I, um…." Moe looked at his daughter then quickly away. "I, um… didn't know you liked hamburgers." He finally got out. Belle looked up to see that he looked upset at the statement.

"Oh yea," she responded with a smile, "They're one of my favourites." She could tell he wanted more details, but how could she explain how she fell in love with the round little sandwich without bringing Rumple into the conversation. Last time she had accidently casually mentioned her love, her Pappa had exploded in a tirade of what a beast he was, which only led to her defending him, which only led to a fight, which ended with her storming out of his house. She was not about the risk doing that again, especially here in the diner.

In a desperate attempt to fine a topic of conversation, Belle scanned the diner and its occupants. Archie was sitting at the counter, distracting Ruby from her work and making her laugh; Emma was at a table, also having lunch with her father; Dr. Whale was sitting alone watching the world go by outside; and a number of other patrons both known and unknown to Belle where dotted all around. It was turning out to be a very busy day for Granny's.

"So how is the work on the library going?" Moe asked Belle and she brightened up just thinking about her work.

"Well I have had to stay late a couple of nights in order to get things ready in time; it's just not going as quickly as I thought it would." She then launched into an explanations of all the problems she was encountering with the building, the collection, and the organization of the library. It was clear, however, from the large smile on her face that she was enjoying the challenge.

From that topic they moved on to the flower shop and conversation became easier and lighter. Mid way though her hamburger Belle actually began to believe that today's meeting with her Pappa might actually finish on a good note for once.

That was until she started fidgeting with her bracelets again. Maybe it was the grease on her fingers, or maybe the spring loaded joint was worn out, or maybe the sound of the cash register slamming startled her, but whatever the reason during her fidgeting one of the bracelets fell off. That's when Moe saw the bruises on his daughter's wrists.

As his eyes got wide, Moe quickly grabbed her hand just as she was trying to hide it under the table. He continued to stare at her wrists as his face got redder and Belle knew he was drawing the worst conclusions from the evidence before him.

"That bastard!" He yelled causing everyone in Granny's to turn to them.

Trying to tug her hand away and desperately trying to think of anything to say to calm her Pappa down, Belle was mortified and wanted the ground to just swallow her up. Before she could react, however, Moe had grabbed her other hand and removed the other bracelet exposing the other bruise just like the first.

"That bloody bastard!" He yelled again, wrenching her wrist up in a way that made it visible to the entire diner.

"Pappa, it's now what you think. Please shhhh!" Her breathing was getting laboured and her mind was going a mile a minute, but strangely it was completely blank at the same time.

"Don't you shush me. I knew he was a beast! And now I have the proof." Moe roared, holding onto his daughters arm.

Belle's pleading didn't even register as Moe looked around Granny's, neither did the fact that all eyes were on the father daughter pair and their drama. The sole focus of Moe's mind was the blond hair woman and the prince that sat with her.

"You see this?" He demanded, dragging Belle from her seat and storming toward the Sheriff and Charming. "Do you see what that monster is doing to my daughter?" As he reached their table the two stood up. Charming looked shocked at the bruises and Emma looked ready for a fight.

"I want Gold arrested? I want him to pay for this."

By this time Belle had given up trying to reason with her father and looked around desperate for anyone to help her. But as she looked into the faces of her fellow patrons all she could see was shock and anger. They all thought the worst of Rumpelstiltskin and this situation was just confirming their views. Where was Ruby? Where was Archie? They would have helped her, they would understand, but they were both nowhere in sight.

"Of course Mr. French. I will look into this immediately." She heard Emma respond and that threw her mind back into action, for she could see that Emma was ready for a fight.

"No, you can't do that. This is not what you think." She tried again. David, being the Prince Charming that he was, put his arm around her easing Belle from her father's hands.

"It's ok Belle, you don't have to worry." He said in a calming tone. It did not have the desired effect as tears sprang to Belle's eyes and she realized that no one here was really even listening to her.

Everyone in the diner could see the tears and the fear in Belle's eyes, and everyone assumed it was Mr. Gold who put them there.

"No!" She yelled this time, wrenching herself away from David's embrace. Her mind was panicking and she would feel her lungs struggling to work. Why couldn't she just say it? Why couldn't she just tell them the truth? Well that was easy. It was taken her months to work up the courage to tell Rumple her deepest fantasy and she loved him. How was she supposed to tell a room full of virtual strangers something she was not completely comfortable with herself?

Her mind was spinning so fast that no one idea would stick in her mind. She needed her father to calm down; she needed to keep her secret; she needed everyone to go back to their lunch; she needed everything to stop.

And then it did. With her name spoken in that wonderful Scottish accent of his, the world stopped, "Belle?"

Never before has Belle been so happy at his ability to bring the focus of a room so squarely on himself. Everyone was afraid of the Dark One and no one dared to the challenge him.

Well, almost no one.

"Mr. Gold…" Emma started to say, but was distracted when Belle flew past her into his arm, hiding her face in his soft jacket. "Um…" she continued from her distraction, "we have a few questions to ask you, down at the sheriff's office."

Looking from Belle, who clung to his jacket, to Moe French, who looked ready to kill and all around the room at the angry, disgusted, yet still fearful faces of Granny's patrons, Rumple decided he really didn't care to figure out what happened. He just needed to get Belle home.

"Later dearie." He muttered darkly to Emma, "Much later."

Placing a protective arm around Belle, he turned them so they could walk out, but before a step could be taken, the sheriff's voice stopped them.

"Belle! You don't have to go with him." She stated, "We can help you."

At this, Rumple pulled away from Belle, giving her a curious yet patient look. Stepping out of her love's arms Belle turned toward the sheriff, but spoke to her father.

"I am not a simpleton, nor am I weak. You did not raise me that way." Her voice was not loud, but it carried to every ear in the diner. "I know you will never trust Rumpelstiltskin, there is too much bad blood between you two for that, but had hoped you would trust me."

And with those words, she placed herself back into her True Love's embrace and allowed him to lead her from Granny's.


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby cuddled into Archie as they walked back to Granny's Diner signaling the end of their lunch break date. Happiness radiated from the couple until they both noticed a worried Rumpelstiltskin leading an obviously distressed Belle out of the diner and down the street. It was not hard to guess that whatever had upset the beauty had started inside and upon entering the building both noticed the angry faces of the patrons. The main players of the drama were identifiable to Archie due to the red face of the local florist and the Prince trying to calm down his livid daughter.

"What's going on here?" Ruby asked to no one and everyone one at the same time.

"It's Mr. Gold…" Emma started only to be interrupted by Moe French.

"That beast! He is hurting my Belle and she won't let us help."

Murmurs of agreement went up around the crowd, in dispersed with quiet statements of: "She must be so afraid." And "We always knew he was evil."

Archie and Ruby looked at each other questioning if the other had any idea what the crowd was talking about. The statements they were hearing from the crowd just seemed impossible. Ruby was Belle's best friend and Archie had been seeing Belle as a patient since two weeks after her escape from the hospital's 'asylum'. They both knew the deep love that existed between Belle and Rumple.

"I am sorry," Archie said looking towards Moe, "But that just does not make any sense…"

Before he could finish his observations both Emma and Moe jumped in.

"It's true." "We saw the bruises."

As the two continue to describe the events of the day, understanding dawned for Ruby. This was a disaster. Belle must be so embarrassed. She finally understood what must have transpired inside the restaurant. She also knew this was an aspect of her life that Belle was not comfortable with yet and for the whole town to know; for her father to know. It was not something Ruby felt anybody should be ashamed of, but then again Ruby was not Belle. She had to end this; she had to set the record straight.

"You are a real idiot!"

Moe was quite shocked at the venom in the statement directed at him.

"I, um…" he stuttered, "I don't understand. Mr. Gold is hurting my Belle."

"No he is not!" The wolf in Ruby was definitely coming out. She was going to have her say and no one was going to stop her.

"First off: If he was hurting her… which he is not… do you really think the best course of action was to air your suspicions in such a public way?" She said, sweeping her arm to take in the patrons of the diner.

This statement finally got Moe French to show some shame at his action, but Ruby was not about to soften her tone. Her friend was upset and she was angry.

"Now think about this. Belle is in love with Rumpelstiltskin… and don't doubt that for one minute… she is in love with all of him; with every aspect of his personality. She might not like when he makes bad choices or when he hurts people, but she still loves him when he does."

Everyone's attention was on her, but she could tell that no one understood yet where she was going with this. Taking a deep breath, Ruby calmed her frustration at the people of this town. Most could not see true love when it was kicking them in the backside, but she also knew that she had to approach this delicately or else risk embarrassing her friend even more then she already was.

"She loves Rumpelstiltskin, but more importantly she TRUSTS him. She trusts him with her secrets…" at this point Ruby looked directly at Emma, "and with her… happiness."

If anyone in this town was going to understand what Ruby was trying to say it had to be Emma. Gods! The woman had offered advice about one night stands to her mother, she had to be able to read what the werewolf was not saying.

Ruby continued to stare at Emma as the Sheriff worked over what she had just been told. Then realization dawned. Emma's mouth dropped open, her eyes got big, and the tinges of an embarrassed blush crept from the top of her head down under the collar of her shirt.

Still staring at the Sheriff, Ruby finished. "I trust this issue is now closed." It was not a question.

"No the issue is not closed, my daughter is in trouble."

Both the florist and the prince were looking between Emma and Ruby trying to figure out what they had missed during the conversation.

"Mr. French," Emma spoke to Moe without looking at him, "I believe we should go somewhere private to discuss what occurred." Before leading Belle's father out of the diner, she turned back to address Ruby one last time. "And yes Miss. Lucas, the matter is closed. Thank you for your insight into the issue."

Ruby watched as the trio left Granny's, but they only got to the sidewalk before Moe stopped Emma and appeared to be demanding answers.

As she continued to watch the little group outside, a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and a familiar pair of lips kissed her cheek.

"You handled that very well My Heart."

"Thank you, but you were no help." She stated a little vexed, but not overly so.

She felt a little laugh move her hair. "Doctor/patient confidentiality, what could I have said."

He was right, she knew. So she covered the strong hands that rested on her stomach with her own and continued to watch the drama outside.

She only returned to work when she saw Emma get frustrated with the two in front of her and said something that caused both men to turn as red as a strawberry. Then the two Charmings left a wide eyed Moe standing dumbstruck on the sidewalk.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma returned to the sheriff's station after having ice cream with Henry. Walking into her office the last thing she expected to find was Mr. Gold waiting for her. After the incident at Granny's the day before, it was also the last thing she wanted to find.

Upon noticing her Mr. Gold gave Emma a sly smile and began to speak. "Sheriff Swan, I believe the other day you indicated that you wanted to speak to me about a possible crime that may have taken place."

This was not a conversation that the Sheriff wanted to have with the most feared man in Storybrook.

"Ah no," she stumbled over her words and refused to look at the man in front of her, "That situation was cleared up. I am sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused you or Miss. French."

Silence sat between the two, until finally Emma got over her embarrassment enough to look up at Mr. Gold. The look on his face was one she knew, but not one that had ever been turned on her before. It was the look he got when someone was going to pay, and he was going to have fun making them pay. She really wished that look was not directed at her.

What he said next, though, surprised her.

"Oh on the contrary Sheriff Swan; you were correct in your assessment yesterday, a crime did take place." Emma could tell he was not lying, but then again the pawnbroker rarely lied, so this still did not bode well for her.

"I am here, of course, to rectify the situation. You see a theft occurred and I am here to return the property that was taken."

Reaching into his pocket Mr. Gold removed a pair of police issued handcuffs and placed them on the desk between them.

"Well… I say theft," he continued "but it was more of a delay in the return of your property. With the return of said property I hope no further action will be required?"

Emma could only nod, never taking her eyes off of the handcuffs as her imagination conjured images of how the cuffs might have been used to cause Belle's bruises.

"Excellent." He exclaimed with malicious glee.

Turning to leave Mr. Gold hesitated at the office door.

"You know Miss. Swan" He began, turning back to her, "You might want to be more careful about where you leave these things. You never know what kind of mischief people can get up too."

And with that he was gone.

Looking back at the handcuffs Emma came to a decision. Taking a folder from one of the piles on the desk she covered the cuffs and got back to work.

There was no way she was ever going to touch those rings of metal ever again.

**THE END**


End file.
